Elizabethport Neighborhood Revitalization Plan

HEYER, GRUEL & ASSOCIATES was retained by the Elizabeth Development Company (EDC) to prepare a Neighborhood Revitalization Plan for the City of Elizabeth's oldest and most racially and ethnically diverse area, Elizabethport. A neighborhood that had seen many years of decline, Elizabethport is now experiencing a boom in construction of infill housing and development of scattered vacant lots. 

The Elizabethport Plan was the second plan in New Jersey to receive the highly competitive Neighborhood Revitalization Tax Credit Program (NTRC) from the State. The designation provides the opportunity for EDC and its partners to receive up to $1 million in grants annually for the next five years. An award of a $156,000 tax credit grant from PNC Bank has already occurred as a result of the Plan.

The Plan "moves beyond bricks and mortar to deal with needed social programming and community building in the neighborhood".

Working closely with neighborhood residents, local non-profits, local merchants and the City, the Plan focuses on community development and establishes solid implementation strategies that guide and expand upon the current development activity within the neighborhood.  Key concepts include:

• A vision that fits the realities of the port area.

• Targeting appropriate development both along the waterfront and within the neighborhood utilizing brownfields and vacant and under-utilized lots.

• Market-rate and affordable housing development.

• Economic development through land use and establishment of needed retail services within the neighborhood.

• Expanded community amenities and social programming.

• Design recommendations for the upkeep of individual properties and the shaping of public spaces.